650 Amalasuntha

650 Amalasuntha
Discovery
Discovered byAugust Kopff
Discovery siteHeidelberg
Discovery date4 October 1907
Designations
(650) Amalasuntha
1907 AM
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc108.51 yr (39635 d)
Aphelion2.9093 AU (435.23 Gm)
Perihelion2.0076 AU (300.33 Gm)
2.4584 AU (367.77 Gm)
Eccentricity0.18339
3.85 yr (1408.0 d)
84.6795°
0° 15m 20.484s / day
Inclination2.5576°
215.571°
178.366°
Physical characteristics
16.582 h (0.6909 d)[2][1]
12.93

650 Amalasuntha is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff on October 4, 1907, at Heidelberg. It was named after Amalasuntha,[3] the queen of the Ostrogoths from 526 to 534 AD. The name may have been inspired by the asteroid's provisional designation 1907 AM.

Photometric observations of this asteroid during 2007 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico, were used to create a light curve plot. This showed a rotation period of 16.582 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.44 ± 0.03 magnitude during each cycle.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "650 Amalasuntha (1907 AM)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b Pilcher, Frederick (June 2008), "Period Determination for 84 Klio, 98 Ianthe, 102 Miriam 112 Iphigenia, 131 Vala, and 650 Amalasuntha", The Minor Planet Bulletin, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 71–72, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2008MPBu...35...71P, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009.
  3. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2012), Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Springer, p. 63, ISBN 3642297188.

External links[edit]